Johns Hopkins Rheumatic Diseases Resource-based Core Center (Johns Hopkins RDRCC)

Overview PROJECT SUMMARY The abiding philosophy of the Johns Hopkins Division of Rheumatology is that the critical pathway to understanding human autoimmune rheumatic diseases is through the study of large numbers of well-defined patients, followed over time, with the collection of rich phenotypic data, mapping disease trajectory, and where possible, acquiring and storing relevant biological materials from blood and target tissue. This repository of data and samples can then be used to separate heterogeneous diagnostic groups into more homogeneous subgroups, using tools that span the entire spectrum of investigation. This P30 provides the framework for organizational (oversight, management), operational (recruitment, sampling, processing), measurement, and analytical (statistical, computational, and integrative) expertise to enable effective clinical and translational research. The RDRCC competitive renewal comprises an Administrative Core (Core A) led by Drs. Antony Rosen and Clifton Bingham, and includes 3 scientific Cores: (i) Core B is the Precision Medicine Data Integration Core, co-led by Dr. Bingham and Dr. Ami Shah; (ii) Core C is the Sample Processing and Immunoassay Research (SPIRE) Core, co-led by Dr. Livia Casciola-Rosen and Dr. Erika Darrah; and Core D is the Data Science Core, led by Dr. Scott Zeger. The Center is structured as a matrix, designed to foster collaborative and synergistic discovery by maximizing access of the diverse research community to data and samples from humans with rheumatic diseases. Core A will promote efficient, interdisciplinary research throughout the research community and Cores, and manage the enrichment program. Core B will work with our Centers of Excellence to bring their research operations onto the Johns Hopkins Precision Medicine Analytical Platform (PMAP) enhancing clinical and research integration through the Epic electronic medical record system. Core C will coordinate patient sample processing, storage and distribution, and provide multiple immunological assays for discovery and validation of biomarkers and disease pathways. Core D will provide highly innovative tools to enable analysis of complex longitudinal data in rheumatic disease patients, particularly with the design and application of hierarchical models to identify disease subsets.